Blogging Challenge: Blog About What You Know

Ah, now, before you jump to conclusions, let’s discuss the specific blogging challenge ahead of you.

It is a fact that most people write best when they write about what they know, rather than something they know nothing about. Hopefully your blog is dedicated to writing about what you know and not about what you don’t know, but that’s a different matter.

The blogging challenge before you is to write a blog post about what you know. What you really know. Look deep into your heart and soul and think about all the things you know. You know a lot about a lot of things. But what are you really confident that you know the most about?

Are you an expert in something? Have you worked at a job, project, or task for many years and know it inside and out? Is there something that you have studied, worked at, or even gotten a degree in that you really know well? Is there something that you love doing or learning about more than anything else, whether or not you get paid for it? When people think of that special something, do they come to you for expert advice on that subject?

Think about all that you know and choose the one thing you would arrogantly assume you were the master of. Then write about it.

Tell us how you know what you know, why you know what you know, and why it was important to you to know what you know about it, whatever it is. And tell us about what what you know.

It can be as simple as answering the question: “What do I know? I know __________”

Let go of your humble humility. Let go of your fear of exposure. Don’t worry about being arrogant. Don’t think about what other people will think. Just tell us about what you know.

Make sure and post a link to your post in the comments or make a trackback so we can track your progress. And ask questions if you are unclear about the blogging challenge before you.

All right, maybe I did not stick to the rules, but as I explain in http://mandarinelechat.free.fr/, what I really know best is unbloggable classified stuff about aerospace design.

[…]
But then I thought … why not write about how many different things I know a lot about ? This could make for an interesting writing (and hopefully reading) experience. And it could even interest Lorelle, who knows so much about so much. […]

mandarine: since I couldn’t find a way to leave comments on your post, I will do so here. Fabulous. I love the original way you focused in on specific “knowings”. I have no problem with breaking rules, just as long as you do so knowingly, and the end result is the same. It gets you thinking and blogging a little differently than normal, expanding your horizons.

And I know who to come to when we start building our home, a home that will be, in a way, a restoration of the old homestead that was torn down a long time ago on our family property. I’m jealous that you already know so much of what I have yet to learn. I want to inhale all of your expertise on gardening and eco-building and restoration.

[…]Lorelle got me to understand that whatever the quality and interest of the technical content you capture in your blog, it always remains a personal matter. Hence the mandarine blog. And thank you Lorelle.[…]

Again, mandarine, I’m speechless with gratitude and humility. And pissed because your wiki/blog doesn’t feature comments so I could tell you more directly. Good luck with your endeavors and let me know how I can help! You are amazing!

Sorry about the absent comments feature, Lorelle, but your challenge sort of caught me off-balance, and I had to use my web page in a rush. It seems this web page is going to grow into a full-fledged weblog, for which TiddlyWiki is clearly inappropriate. I shall switch to WordPress as soon as I can.

Heh, I’ve been doing this right along. Generally speaking, if I don’t already know something about the topic, I don’t write about it, unless I’m looking to learn something from my readers. My philosophy is, if I can’t add something to the discussion, I don’t say anything at all.

Jim, the following isn’t an attack on you. Understand that. We’re all here to learn and you’ve just provided an excellent example of a lesson.

Reread the challenge. This isn’t about what you “know” as day to day knowledge and expertise. It’s deeper. It’s something you know better than anyone else – yes, an arrogant assumption, but I’m encouraging you to brag. ;-)

It is the “rule” to write what you know, and hopefully we all do. But many of us write in our blog based upon expectations of what others think or we think they want to know from us. Not what we really know inside, deep down. I’m encouraging you to write a post about what you know in your life, down to your toes.

There have been some amazing responses to this challenge, and Kristin “zhayena” K. Wangen has a prime example. She talks about what she knows as part of her work and day to day life, but deep down, there’s something special in her life that she “knows” about better than anyone.

I have a friend who is a PhD and expert in computer software programming, in demand around the world for her expertise. She is paid mega bucks to tell companies how to fix their software problems. Ask her this same blogging challenge and she will tell you that what she knows, really knows, is about knitting. She loves to knit. She knits everywhere and anywhere she can. She says it helps her solve her complicated programming challenges, allowing her mind to leave the problem and go into an almost zen state where the answers bubble to the top. It relaxes her and yet gives her energy as her fingers fly. But publicly, few people know that this is her passion and what she really, really knows about. She told me that she doesn’t want others to know because it’s a sissy, domesticated thing to do and she wants to be known as a corporate consultant powerhouse. But get her talking about knitting on a personal level and she will talk for HOURS.

Let go of presumption. Let go of expectation of yourself and others. Remove the layers and write a post that shares what you are really good at, what you really know, and see what happens. You might surprise yourself. There have been a lot of surprised people taking this challenge, starting to explain what they think they know, only to find out that they know something else entirely better than they know what they tell people.

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I know about photography. There. Simple statement isn’t it? Ever picked up a camera and taken a photo you like? Does that mean that you know about photography too? Let me explain how I know about photography.
I have had cameras of one sort o…

[…] since this is my “figure out blogging” blog (instead of figure out WordPress, Life etc blog) I’ve decided to (at least try) take on Lorelle’s blogging challenge as she’s right – it will defently do some good for this blog, not just nameless, but contentless as well..

First challenge: Blog About What You Know – or as Lorelle explained in her post:

the one thing you would arrogantly assume you were the master of.

I try every day to be a master of css, (x)html, php, web accessibility, wordpress – because this is what I do. And I find great pleasure in just knowing the answer on the spot. […]

[…] I told you it was coming and now its here, Lorelle’s first blogging challenge. The first challenge topic is to “blog about what you know”. To take the challenge and find out more visit Lorelle on WordPress […]

[…] This cheesy post is dedicated to Joey, who actually has a calling to work for good causes, and is finally on his way to a second life where he can attempt to do so… And to Lorelle VanFossen, who clearly follows her passion, and while she does it inspires others. […]

[…] This is a little late, but here it is, as a part of the blogging challenge set by Lorelle. In my case it is very simple to answer this question – software. This is my area of work, expertise and passion, and I feel most confident blogging about it. […]

[…] And don’t forget the other blogging challenges going on. There has been Tell Us a Story, Top 10 Keywords for Your Blog (which will play a very important role in an upcoming challenge, hint, hint!), and Blog About What You Know. I warned you all that this was going to be a seriously blog-challenging summer, so get your blog in gear and start challenging yourself! […]

[…] So the first of the blog challenges is to write about what you know. This is a hard question for two reasons. First of all, you yourself have to figure out and realize what your expertise is. And second, how comfortable you are to admitting that fact in public. If you claim you know something but you don’t really, you’ll end up making a fool of yourself. If you do know a lot about a lot of things, you might be perceived as obnoxious by others if they think you’re trying to be a smart-ass. […]

[…] This is a little late, but here it is, as a part of the blogging challenge set by Lorelle. In my case it is very simple to answer this question – software. This is my area of work, expertise and passion, and I feel most confident blogging about it. […]